We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.

Akin to, and largely responsible for the sweeping changes in our industrial-military posture, has been the technological revolution during recent decades.

In this revolution, research has become central; it also becomes more formalized, complex, and costly. A steadily increasing share is conducted for, by, or at the direction of, the Federal government.

Today, the solitary inventor, tinkering in his shop, has been overshadowed by task forces of scientists in laboratories and testing fields. In the same fashion, the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity. For every old blackboard there are now hundreds of new electronic computers."

January 29, 2006
Corporate Wealth Share Rises for Top-Income Americans
By DAVID CAY JOHNSTON
New government data indicate that the concentration of corporate wealth among the highest-income Americans grew significantly in 2003, as a trend that began in 1991 accelerated in the first year that President Bush and Congress cut taxes on capital.

In 2003 the top 1 percent of households owned 57.5 percent of corporate wealth, up from 53.4 percent the year before, according to a Congressional Budget Office analysis of the latest income tax data. The top group's share of corporate wealth has grown by half since 1991, when it was 38.7 percent.

In 2003, incomes in the top 1 percent of households ranged from $237,000 to several billion dollars.

For every group below the top 1 percent, shares of corporate wealth have declined since 1991. These declines ranged from 12.7 percent for those on the 96th to 99th rungs on the income ladder to 57 percent for the poorest fifth of Americans, who made less than $16,300 and together owned 0.6 percent of corporate wealth in 2003, down from 1.4 percent in 1991.

The analysis did not measure wealth directly. It looked at taxes on capital gains, dividends, interest and rents. Income from securities owned by retirement plans and endowments was excluded, as were gains from noncorporate assets such as personal residences.

This technique for measuring wealth has long been used in standard economic studies, though critics have challenged that tradition.

Among them is Stephen J. Entin, president of the Institute for Research on the Economics of Taxation in Washington, which favors eliminating most taxes on capital and teaches that an unintended consequence of the corporate income tax is depressed wage rates. Mr. Entin said the report's approach was so flawed that the data were useless.

He said reduced tax rates on long-term capital gains may have prompted wealthy investors to sell profitable investments. That would show up in tax data as increased wealth that year, even though the increase may have built up over decades.

Long-term capital gains were taxed at 28 percent until 1997, and at 20 percent until 2003, when rates were cut to 15 percent. The top rate on dividends was cut to 15 percent from 35 percent that year.

The White House said it did not believe that the 2003 tax cuts had much influence on wealth shares. It also said that since wealth is transitory for many people, a more important issue is how incomes and wealth are influenced by the quality of education.

"We want to lift all incomes and wealth," said Trent Duffy, a White House spokesman. "We are starting to see that the income gap is largely an education gap."

"The president thinks we need to close the income gap, and he has talked about ways in which we can do that," especially through education, Mr. Duffy said.

The data showing increased concentration of corporate wealth were posted last month on the Congressional Budget Office Web site. Isaac Shapiro, associate director of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, spotted the information last week and wrote a report analyzing it.

Mr. Shapiro said the figures added to the center's "concerns over the increasingly regressive effects" of the reduced tax rates on capital. Continuing those rates will "exacerbate the long-term trend toward growing income inequality," he wrote.

The center, which studies how government affects the poor and supports policies that it believes help alleviate poverty, opposes Mr. Bush's tax policies.

The center plans to release its own report on Monday that questions the wisdom of continuing the reduced tax rates on dividends and capital gains, saying the Congressional Budget Office analysis indicates that the benefits flow directly to a relatively few Americans.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

I became aware, just today, of a website that catalogues Republican Party or right -wing Dirty Tricks that go back to 1800, and carry forward to today. Read it and weep for America. Is this who we think we are?

For a nation that prides itself on its high moral stance, how can it be tolerable to allow people who engage in continual bad acts to control America? This is Machiavellian to the extreme. Some will claim that it's just human nature. I disagree. Human nature can be both good and bad. Moral systems and laws exist to restrain the bad. The right-wing agenda seems to be that the ends justify the means. In my experience, it has never appeared that good ends are achieved by using dishonest and deceptive tactics in pursuit of those ends.

"And Judge Alito is superbly qualified. His record on the bench is that of a thoughtful conservative, not a raging ideologue. He pays careful attention to the record and doesn't reach for the political outcomes he desires. His colleagues of all stripes speak highly of him. His integrity, notwithstanding efforts to smear him, remains unimpeached."

Saturday, January 14, 2006

In my spare time, I visit Yahoo's political chatrooms. Its a great way to connect with like-minded people who are interested in social justice. I have met some wonderful people in these rooms and have forged important alliances. Along with that great benefit, come the Trolls. The trolls who visit the political chatrooms seem to have no grasp of the political theories that have helped America survive over these last two centuries. They support the neoconservative agenda, and want to rob Americans of their civil liberties.

The trolls all say the same things. After a while it became clear that they had a script from which they were working. It also seemed that since they were online so much, with the same dead arguments, that they must be getting paid.

Turns out that both speculations were true! A chatroom member went to a right-wing religious event and got a copy of the script from a Young Republican table.

He scanned it into his computer, and I copied the text verbatim, misspellings and all.

Here is it!

GOP Public Forum & Chat Room HandbookForwardHello my young republican friend. You are apart of a breed of Patriotic Americans that will shape and mold the mighty GOP party. In today's times public forums and chat rooms have became the second most positive and influential place to get out the GOP platform. A few fellow young republicans have put together this little booklet as an aid to help you overcome liberal objections in a public forum or chat room. With YOUR help, we can take the USA and turn it Back into the Moral and Christian nation that God intended it to be.

Remember to check the closing message about logging and reporting any online activities. Donations will be given at random for you help getting the GOP message out.Get the word out and also have some fun irritating some liberals. K.R.

GOP Public Forum & Chat Room HandbookListed here is the Rules for Public Forums and Chat room.. ..1) CLINTON.. .... Always Blame Clinton (or anyone around him)As a young republican you will come into contact with lost liberals that need a talking to. The chat room is a wonderful tool for this and spreading the GOP platform. This first rule is what we call a "GOLDEN RULE" The use of Clinton over and over will always frustrate a liberal. You may be in the wrong on the topic at hand but remember to ALWAYS use Clinton as a comeback.2) ALIBI.. ..Always Alibi when needed.There will come times when you are alone or out numbered in a public area or chat room. Don't sweet it! If the Clinton rule does not work, you can always ALIBI. Alibi your way out of the topic or to get out of the conversation or out of the chat room. When you do this, make sure you do not show the republicans have lost or make the party look bad. Examples: Say you lost a topic with a liberal.. ..You would go into Alibi mode. Attempt to turn the loss into a win by convincing the liberal he or she has actually lost and encourage them to try again.3) AnnoyAlways remember to annoy if possible. This not only provides fun for you but irritates a liberal to death. Examples: Liberal men hate to be called by the opposite gender. Refer to the male liberal as she or her. Liberal woman hate to be ordered around. When doing this, order the liberal women.4) GOD (Golden Rule)We are the GOP.. ..GODS OWN PARTY. Don't let liberals forget this! Always invoke God into anything and it usually gets the topic to change to yours. Liberals will take the bait every time.5) Always remember to remind liberals that they are GOD LESS and Immoral at ALL COST.6) CALL OUT ON WARMake sure to always call a liberal out on war issues. Remind them that the GOP is the Most Patriotic party. It is ok to wrap yourself the flag. If you have the flag symbol on your chat client, Use it.7) ABORTIONLiberals hate abortion talk. Being a republican, it is up to US to get the liberals to understand that abortion is wrong! As a reminder, Always use key words such as the ones listed below. Remember to invoke morals and God. Keywords: Breathing, heartbeat, moving, murder and PRO-Abortion.

8) Death PenaltyThe death penalty is a touchy subject. People on both sides have different views on it, but being GODS party, we have to do what he says. The bible says "An Eye for Eye, Tooth for Tooth." So we have to remind liberals of this. One good way to call a liberal on this one is to call them a hypocrite for being pro-choice to kill babies but anti death penalty to kill a murderer. You can use today's topics for examples.9) GUNSAlways defend the NRA and other gun rights groups. The liberals will try to call you on this issue. Always remind them of the Second Amendment and accuse them of wanting to take your guns away even though you are not a criminal. Keep hitting the Second Amendment over and over if this subject comes up.10) GAYSWhen the topic of gays comes up always remind the liberals that GOD says it is WRONG. Never give into this argument or make any concessions. Always get your point across that gays shouldn't marry or have any rights.11) GETTING POINT ACROSSAlthough we are GODS own party, from time to time we have to do things that do not reflect ourselves. To get the point across you will have to DO ANY MEANS NESSESARY to get it across. This is a time that language or other courses of action are ok. Remember to Pray for Gods forgiveness afterwards.12) SWAYINGAlways remember to use tactics to sway the conversation or topic to make the GOP and Christians look good. Using points such as: Well you have to admit, the choice or law by the president or congress was good for both sides. Bipartisan is another good one. Gets a liberal every time.13) BUILD YOURSELF UPAlways observe the room and take notes. The notes are your ammo to use against liberals later. You will hear about the education, backgrounds and such. Build yourself up by using some of these examples: Say you have more than one college degree and that makes you smarter or more qualified on the subject of topic.; Claim to have money, always more than any liberal.; Claim you work at a powerful job or own a company (non union of course) that made you millions.; Claim to know powerful people.; A good one is to claim you made money with stocks when the market had crashed.14) SWAYING TO ADMITAlways try to get a liberal to say he or she respects the office of president (unless it is a Democrat of course) . By doing this, the liberal will admit he respects the president by accident and you have them on the record now.15) IGNORE FEATUREWe all know that if we cant be heard, we cant spread the message. If faced with the ignore feature always down play it. Use the "Freedom of Speech" has been taken away. Always claim to win if they ignore you. Lastly, tell the Liberal that they conceded to you because they used the ignore feature.16) 911Never let the liberals forget 911. Anytime Homeland security issues, war or terror issues always invoke this rule.One good thing to do is get a conspiracy theory going and the liberals will fight one another. Always choose the liberal with the biggest mouth, bragger, claims to know everything to get this one started. Every chat room has one.17) WAR ON TERRORThe war on terror is one issue the liberals like to fight about. It is not helped when the Press is making the war on terrorlook bad. Always remind the liberals that the GOP government is keeping them safe and protecting their freedoms.18) LIBERALS LOVING TERRORISTOne way to get a liberal going is to accuse them of loving terrorist. Beat it in the ground to them if you start this. A good Example is: Call them a Bin Laden lover or supporter.19) MORE ON WARIt is important to remind the liberals over and over again that the GOP Army is fighting the terrorist or bad guys over there and not here. If war press is bad, I would suggest not sticking around to much on this topic.20) TROOPSAlways, Always, Always down the liberals when it comes to the troops. Call them troop haters ... Commies you name it. Most liberals are anti-war but support having a m i l i t q when the cause is on their side. So calling them troop haters will get them going every time.21) PATRIOTISEMOne way to get a whole room of liberals going mad is to question their patriotism. While in the chat room always remember to call them un-American or unpatriotic as much as possible. Hey we can’t help it if they are not smart enough to be with us! We are the GOP and WE are the ONLY REAL AMERICANS. *note, we don't suggest doing this rule if you are in public and not in a chat room behind the screen.22) UNIONSUnions are bad for America. Always remember to put unions down at all cost, at all times. Unions don't create jobs, they take them away by asking for outrageous demands for workers that didn't spend a dime starting the company to begin with. Unions are the REAL reason that jobs leave and people are laid off. Go after them at all cost. Beware though, liberals WILL fight you on this one.23) FREE TRADEFree trade will come up very often in the public setting and chat rooms. Usually it is brought up by liberals that are pro union and when the press is giving some bad news about another company leaving the country with jobs.You will usually get the NAFA topic on this issue. If so. Always remind the liberal that Clinton signed NAFTA into law. *Note* Be careful, this is a topic a liberal might be schooled in and have a lot of ammo on. If they mention Bush Sr. and the people surrounding him drafting the NAFTA bill.. . . . ..&11 the conversation! At all cost kill it. Leave the room if you must.24) POLLSAs a general rule, Polls are ONLY good when the GOP numbers are positive. If liberals use poll numbers in the argument, always down play them. Always Accuse any poll not conservative to be slant or bias. Note though, if the numbers are high for our cause, issues or office holders, by all means use them.25) REMINDERS Another way to break the thread in a room or get under a liberals skin is to remind them they are not in control. Almost like nagging. Example: We won and you lost or We rule and you don't.26) LIBERAL PRESS We all know that the press has taken a curve towards the middle and the right over the last 10 years. If there is negative press on the GOP, always ACCUSE the Press of being LIBERAL. Note a good one to go after is the NY TIMES.27) STATEMENTS Always make your point. But if something is not going in your direction Start posting your items but refuse to list or Show your sources or links to your sources.Always make your statement but......Do whatever it takes to make your point, but if something is not totally going your way.....here is how to get it away from you. Post your items and text but remember not to give a source or link. Alibi if ness.28) CREDITALBE SOURCESFor good issues and support for your cause always use creditable sources. To help you here are a few to help you out. Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Michael Savage to name a few. If you need Christian sources use anything by Pat Robertson, James Dobson.29) OFFER TO DEBATEAlways offer to debate just to get into the conversation. If it is not going your way in the debate if the liberal takes the challenge, Get YOUR points out and don't acknowledge theirs.30) ECONOMYAlways point to Ronald Reagan as the source for great economic times. Always try to place Reagan on a pedestal for he is the Father of the Modern GOP party.31) STOCK MARKETNever admit the stock market is doing bad. When the market is doing great, credit Reagan or the Current president if he is a GOP one. One way to have fun with liberals on the Stock Market is to claim you own stocks that did great during the crashes.32) LIBERAL VETSLiberals are not military men, republicans are. Liberals do not understand war and how it works. So how could ademocrat be a military leader or of importance? Always go after liberal vets. Make sure to know Great republicanwar leaders and push it down their throats.33) GOP MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUNDAlways remind the liberals that the GOP is to thank for EVERYTHING they enjoy. All the Services, Military and Great, Strong Leadership. Don't let the liberals forget it.34) WELFAREAccuse ALL liberals to be on welfare. Always claim the get a check and don't deserve it. Food stamps is another good one. Let them know that the GOP is keeping their lazy asses up and they should go get a job.35) DIEBOLDDiebold is a great company that gives back to us. The owners of Diebold are good, God fearing republican members.They do us and America a great service. Do NOT let liberals trash them.36) BLACK VOTEWhen election talks come up, always accuse the liberals of needing the black vote to even get anyone in office. Tell them if it wasn't for the black vote a third party would finish higher than they would.37) JEW'SAs God fearing people, we are to defend Israel as a state. God says so! One point is to point out that most American Jews are liberals.38) U.N.As the Giant, Mighty and Greatest Country in the world. We DON'T need others to tell us what to do and not to do. The UN is a weak group and not even worthy of topic time if brought up. We would say change subject.39) ENERGY & OILNever allow a liberal to get oil or energy in a topic. They will claim OIL is the root of all evil and the reasons for high prices. Oil and energy companies are our friends and we need to keep them protected.40) NAMESAlways make chat nick names that will get you recognized right away. This allows you to get in then and not later.41) WEAK DEMOCRATSYou will come upon weak liberals from time to time. These liberals may can be changed to the GOP. If done right. Take their side. Agree that the USA wants you to vote for the Lesser of two evils. Agree with them that Both Parties are bad and messing things up. Once you get them in. GO for it.

This weekend, I decided to republish an article that originally appeared under a pseudonym, Frankie Lake. It exposes the nature of the Federalist Society, College Republicans, and Young Republicans. I am hoping that people will distribute the article with the intent that Democrats will find enough backbone to filibuster the Alito nomination. Samuel Alito is a Federalist Society member. The Federalist Society supports an extreme right-wing agenda far outside the intent of the Constitution and the consensus of the American people. Alito supports a "unitary executive" branch, which destroys the checks and balances inherent in the Constitution, and opens up America to control by a dictatorship. If this sounds familiar, it is similar to what happened in pre-war Germany.

After I published this article I set up an email account under my pseudonym. People from across the country contacted with with stories very similar to my own. Some of them spoke of events like this that occurred decades ago. There is a pattern and practice of lying and deception at the core of this organization's culture.

Hypatia of Alexandria

Hypatia of Alexandria (Greek: Ὑπατία; born between 350 and 370 CE – 415 CE) was a Greek scholar from Alexandria in Egypt, considered the first notable woman in mathematics, who also taught philosophy and astronomy. She lived in Roman Egypt, and was killed by a Coptic Christian mob who blamed her for religious turmoil. She has been hailed as a "valiant defender of science against religion", and some suggest that her murder marked the end of the Hellenistic Age.

A Neoplatonist philosopher, she followed the school characterized by the 3rd century thinker Plotinus, and discouraged mysticism while encouraging logical and mathematical studies.

Hypatia was the daughter of Theon, who was her teacher and the last known mathematician associated with of the Musaeum of Alexandria. She traveled to both Athens and Italy to study before becoming head of the Platonist school at Alexandria in approximately 400 CE. According to the Byzantine Suda, she worked as teacher of philosophy, teaching the works of Plato and Aristotle. It is believed that there were both Christians and foreigners among her students.

Although Hypatia was herself a pagan, she was respected by a number of Christians, and later held up by Christian authors as a symbol of virtue. The Suda controversially declared her "the wife of Isidore the Philosopher" but agreed she had remained a virgin.

Hypatia maintained correspondence with her former pupil Bishop of Ptolomais Synesius of Cyrene. Together with the references by Damascius, these are the only writings with descriptions or information from her pupils that survive.

The contemporary Christian historiographer Socrates Scholasticus described her in his Ecclesiastical History:There was a woman at Alexandria named Hypatia, daughter of the philosopher Theon, who made such attainments in literature and science, as to far surpass all the philosophers of her own time. Having succeeded to the school of Plato and Plotinus, she explained the principles of philosophy to her auditors, many of whom came from a distance to receive her instructions. On account of the self-possession and ease of manner, which she had acquired in consequence of the cultivation of her mind, she not unfrequently appeared in public in presence of the magistrates. Neither did she feel abashed in going to an assembly of men. For all men on account of her extraordinary dignity and virtue admired her the more.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypatia_of_Alexandria

About Me

Ms. LaRosa (her nom de plume) aka Deborah Lagutaris is a grandmother of three, a mother of two, and a recent graduate of a top-tier law school. She put herself through college and law school after she held responsible positions for 30 years in banking, real estate brokerage, and real estate lending.